POACHED FRUIT

COUNTLESS GUITARISTS HAVE lifted Chuck Berry’s licks and riffs, which seems only fair, considering that Berry stole some of them himself. But when did it cross the line? Apparently whenever Chuck said so. Here are five thefts from the Berry patch.

SURFIN’ U.S.A.

The Beach Boys (1963)

This Beach Boys hit is essentially Chuck’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” with new lyrics penned by Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson and singer Mike Love, who was uncredited. Wilson in 2015. While the Leonard Chess biopic depicts Berry (played by Mos Def) as being angry about Wilson’s appropriation of his music, in reality the guitarist liked “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and reportedly even complimented the Beach Boys. “We ran into Chuck Berry in Copenhagen and he told us he loves ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’,” guitarist Carl Wilson recalled. But that didn’t stop him from demanding his cut. Beach Boys manager Murray Wilson (the father of Brian and his brothers) gave the song to Berry’s publisher, Arc Music, and for a while the song was credited solely to Berry, although in later years it has been shared by Berry and Wilson.